Taion
by black.tinker.bell
Summary: There are many lessons they learnt together, but expressing their feelings is not one of them. Sometimes, however, that doesn't matter. Sasuke/Naruto, yaoi


_**Taion**_

_by black_tinker_bell_

_Ch#1_**Heart**

**A/N: **_Well... My first ever story in this fandom. It should be 100 chapters long. Saying should there because I tend to leave stories unfinished. Not sure how regularly I can update (bloody school). Don't have a plan as to what I'm gonna do with this in the end; I never do. Now I hope there are still some people who haven't been put off by all that. And I hope they enjoy the story :)_

_Taion means body temperature  
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* * *

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The rhythm had been set long before he was even born. The rhythm of the moves a ninja is to perform. Every jump, every swing, every flicker of the fingers. Every move had its place, time, cycle, repetition. The rhythm they were all to follow.

The rhythm had been set long before he was even born. The rhythm in which his teammate is to follow. Every kick after the hit, every jump after the weapon strike, every technique after the run. The rhythm every teammate was to stick to.

The rhythm had been set long before he was even born. The rhythm of their breaths. The calm one, the fast one, the slow one. One for winter, one for summer. One for day, one for night. The rhythm that changed, but even those changes had their rhythm.

The rhythm had been set long before he was even born. The rhythm of his heart's beating. Fast at first, but slowing, slowing every so slightly with every day, every hour, every minute... Slowing, until it stopped. The rhythm his heart was supposed to obey. So why was it speeding now?

*

The silence surrounding the Uchiha compound only made his heart's beating louder. It was beating slowly, lazily, sleepily. Sasuke could feel it under the soft skin of the tips of his fingers, resting lightly on his naked chest. All he could hear was the rhythmical beating of his heart; there was no wind outside, no night birds and animals, his bed wasn't creaking. It was as if one world ended at his gates, and another began there. A world where only he existed. The absence of sounds of any kind made him feel so far, far away from the world, from other living creatures. And there was nothing he could do to bring anyone closer. He was alone.

He was _lonely_.

He could pretend when he was around others, pretend he was perfectly fine as he was, pretend he was tough, he didn't need anyone. But when he was alone... There was no mask that would hide his feelings from himself. In the cold, deaf darkness of his home, he was forced to face all his fears, all his mistakes, all the things he didn't want to see. He reached out and lit the candle that was set next to his bed. He wasn't afraid of the dark, no. But he was afraid of what waited for him in the dark.

The candle's unstable light cast eerie shadows over the walls. Like enemies, creeping slowly, they moved over the walls, following the flame of the candle which danced in the slight breeze. Still not a sound. Not even the quietest sound. All Sasuke could hear was the slow thumping in his chest. He wondered if that sound, too, would soon disappear. If it did, there would be no one to hear it.

*

The light finally went out, losing the long struggle against the wind, stronger with every second that passed. Sasuke welcomed the wind, its weeping and howling, getting louder; he hoped it would eventually grow loud enough to cover up the sound of his breathing, his heartbeat, all the sounds reminding him that he was painfully alone. The door slammed shut and the curtain on the window stilled for a little while. A window downstairs closed with a deafening blow. Sasuke pushed the blanket off of himself and shivered at the sudden coldness. He lowered his bare feet on the carpet and soundlessly walked to the window.

The yard in front of him was empty, apart from a few yellow leaves on the still green grass. It was like a ghost city, a memorial already, cold stone and concrete with no soul. Sasuke shivered and closed the window. Somewhere in the distance, he could see the yellowish light spilling from a window of someone else's warm house. His heart sped up, awakening at the idea of another heart beating close to it.

*

The village was so much warmer than Sasuke's room. ...or was it just him? He unbuttoned the jacket he had brought with him, but didn't take it off. A chilly breath of the wind went straight through him, pleasantly lowering his body temperature. It was far too late for anyone to be in the streets now, but it felt good just being remotely close to another human being.

Sasuke let his feet take him wherever they pleased, as he turned down random streets, all faintly familiar to him, but nothing more than that. No house, and tree was unfamiliar, never seen before, and it made him feel like he actually belonged there. The place seemed to recognize him, clear his path, light his way. It was more like an old friend than anything else. It killed his boredom, and chased away the loneliness, and he didn't even have to hide behind a mask from it.

*

Sasuke expected the wind to be stronger in the training ground. He expected the stars to be glowing brighter. He expected the grass to be wetter. What he didn't expect, was for someone to already be there. His heart skipped a beat when he recognized the bright orange jumpsuit, the blond hair, a kunai glowing in the boy's hand. For a moment, he pondered if he should leave before Naruto even noticed him, but for some reason, his feet were too heavy to move; all he could was just stand there and watch his friend in the dark. A shuriken flew in his direction, and he just barely had time to duck and avoid it.

"Sasuke!" Naruto gasped as he turned around. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, walking closer.

"I'm fine," Sasuke answered in his usual, flat and seemingly uninterested tone. Naruto was close to him now, merely two steps away, if even as much. He was sweaty and dirty, and Sasuke wondered how long it's been since Naruto got there. Then he wondered why he cared, pretending he didn't know the answer.

"Oh... okay then," Naruto answered awkwardly. He looked over Sasuke's shoulder and was met by dark. "Huh, guess I'm not retrieving that shuriken now," he said, shrugging, before focusing on his friend again. For once in his life, he wanted to say the right thing. And for once, his tongue was tied in a knot, and no words, right or wrong, left his mouth.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, flexing his fingers nervously inside his pockets.

"I couldn't sleep," Naruto answered, looking at the ground, slightly embarrassed. He waited for a teasing comment, but it never came. Instead, all he got was silence. He looked up, and saw Sasuke's eyes were on the twinkling stars above their heads.

"Same," Sasuke whispered in response, his mouth dry after the confession he himself wasn't expecting.

"Oh," was all Naruto could mumble. "Um..." he started after a while, but Sasuke didn't seem to notice.

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice broke the silence. Naruto looked up. "What is that star over there?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

Naruto made a face and mumbled, "How the hell should I know!?"

"Loser," Sasuke replied smugly, and Naruto missed the affectionate tone of his voice.

"Well, since you know everything, why wouldn't you tell me?"

Sasuke looked at him with a smile Naruto wasn't quite sure he knew how to describe.

"Never said I wouldn't."

*

The cold grass didn't seem to affect Sasuke in the slightest, even after more than an hour of lying on it. His heart was beating fast, and loud, so loud that he was surprised Naruto couldn't hear it. He was sure every normal person would. But Naruto wasn't a normal person. Right now, he wasn't sure if he was either.

Surely the stars couldn't be this interesting. Definitely not interesting enough for two young teenagers to spend nearly two hours talking about them. Not that Sasuke minded. The warmth was radiating off of Naruto's body, making his own feel warmer, feel like it was melting. The night seemed to make them both slower, calmer, gentler. Spending time together was never as pleasant as at that moment. No questions were asked, no answers given. The conversation was kept light, even meaningless.

Deep down, Sasuke knew why Naruto couldn't sleep, why he was running away from the place he called home, just as empty as Sasuke's own. Deep down, he understood Naruto didn't want to talk about it, and deep down he was thankful for it.

Naruto watched Sasuke, his pale skin in contrast with the darkness around him, his still smooth hands as they showed him one star after another, his dark eyes, glinting, so much like the night sky above them, sprayed with stars. Just Sasuke, without that annoying attitude, without the teasing words, without the complaining... just simple, plain Sasuke. Every so often, Naruto had to look to his side, to make sure it was really Sasuke who was there, by his side, and not someone else. And every time he saw the familiar face, his heart would make a few leaps, and he would unconsciously move closer, just a little closer.

Little by little by little. Now he was close enough to smell the fresh smell of Sasuke's skin, close enough to see his chest rise and fall as he breathed, to see his lips clearly as the formed quiet, whispered words of nothing important, said just to keep the silence away. Close enough to hear Sasuke's heart beating, only just faster than his own, only a bit louder, just a tad stronger. The wind was playing with the dark locks of Sasuke's hair, stroking them away from his face, curling them, twisting them. Naruto's eyelids were getting heavier, and his focus was slipping. The world became just waves of dark hair, pale skin and a deep, calming voice.

*

Sasuke's voice was getting weaker, his words getting lost in the air, carried away by the wind. He could no longer feel the excess warmth of Naruto's body mingling with his own, did no longer see from the corner of his eye the way Naruto inched closer. The boy was asleep by his side, a faint smile on his face, his body turned completely towards Sasuke. Sasuke couldn't tear his eyes away; he watched carefully as Naruto's muscles twitched, tensed and relaxed, as his body shivered in response to the wind, bathed in the shimmering silvery light of the stars. He knelt, took off his jacket and wrapped it around the smaller boy.

His fingers brushed over Naruto's chest unintentionally, and he felt the thrumming of his heart. Sometime just before dawn, he finally gave in to his wishes, and pressed a hand over Naruto's chest very much intentionally, just to feel that beat again, just to feel it speed up his own, just to feel his fingers, numb from cold, tingle in response. With the first rays of sun, he could feel the changes in the rhythm of Naruto's heart, and by the time he left... he knew their hearts were beating in sync.

*

The Uchiha compound was just as empty as it had been when Sasuke left it. It was just as quiet, just as cold, just as far away from everyone else. Sasuke's eyes were seeing the same things, his skin was feeling the same wind, his body was cold at the touch. But he wasn't as lonely, nor as scared. Maybe he did choose to forget the night had ever happened, maybe he did choose to pretend he didn't know, but there was a heart out there, beating in the same rhythm as his own.


End file.
